Angels Do Exist
by Ringo-01
Summary: With his parents' recent death, the full-time, live-in job seemed to offer the best distraction. Turns out what made it so wasn't WHAT the job was, but rather WHO. A response gift fic for my fanfic twin, Confusion No Hime's 'A Twisted Fairytale'. Shounen-ai.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **As I've said, this is a response gift fic for Hime-twin's 'A Twisted Fairytale'. As that fanfic was made with the request of basing it from a manga, I thought it only appropriate to give a similar response.

Twin, you've seen part of this chappy from my lj, I hope you enjoy the full chapter~! (P.S. I've already got 4 chapters finished, 3 or 4 more to go, but I'll only do a monthly post. _Torture_ is so fun yes, Hime-twin?) 3

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**Disclaimer:** **I don't own Bleach, nor Concrete Garden. They belong to Tite Kubo and Kotobuki Tarako, respectively. (LOL. Notice that both their initials are the same having T and K in it? XD)**

**Warning:**** Shounen-ai**

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**Angels Do Exist**

**Chapter 1: Leaving Home**

'… I want to go home... Or not.'

Bored out of his mind with the travel, not really looking forward to what it was he had set out to do anymore, but deciding it to be better than the silence waiting for him back at home, the 18-year old quietly contemplated on how he had ended up in such a situation in the first place.

It was like any other normal day, with the pleasant weather and marshmallow clouds littering the sky when _they_ had approached him.

* * *

It had been a month since his graduation from college, a month since the car accident which took the lives of his parents, leaving him all alone to fend for himself. Or so he thought.

He was walking back from his part-time job at the local hospital- the home clinic was not enough to support him anymore, with the prices increasing exponentially, and the economy going from bad to worse, so he took up a part-time job in the nearby hospital as a pediatric intern- when he spotted a tall blonde and a beautiful, willowy dark-skinned lady, standing in front of his house, as if waiting for someone. Calling out to the pair a few meters back, the faces looking back at him gave him a sense of nostalgia. Upon catching sight of him, the older male ran from his spot and leap-tackled him to the ground, with a shout of "Ichigoooooooo!", and a river of tears and snot trailing behind. The situation was uncannily similar to that of his father's usual greeting, that he was rooted on the spot, unable to immediately dodge the aggressive greeting, only realizing belatedly that he should probably evade the approaching tackle unless he was wanting for a sore butt. The resulting crash with the blonde had him limping for a week.

Upon re-introduction, he found out that the undeniably familiar person who had just successfully tackled him to the ground was none other than Urahara Kisuke, and the beautiful lady Yoruichi, his 'phone' uncle and aunt.

It had been 17 years since he last saw them, _if you could even call that 'seeing'_, he had been but a year-old babe, still defenseless to the world, when he first 'met' his uncle and aunt. After that, his uncle was supposedly assigned a high-profile mission by the military, hence the need to move residences and the strict requirement for secrecy. At first, Urahara and Yoruichi regularly called to check up on them, but as time passed, they had become too preoccupied with their job, and the regularly became occasionally, changing to rarely, finally stopping altogether for almost 3 years until his parents'- Masaki and Isshin's deaths, where the calls returned with an annoying frequency- three times a day, every day without fail, for the whole of the past month. Whenever one was busy with work, the other would usually make the check-up call.

Annoying as it was, he did not have the heart to tell off the couple for being such an inconvenience. It helped serve as a distraction from the grief he was experiencing of losing both his only blood relatives at the same time. Somehow he knew and understood that they were all hurting, him for the loss of his parents, them for the loss of their good friends.

'_Possibly their only friends, considering their eccentricities…'_ Ichigo couldn't help but think after two weeks of constantly receiving their 3x a day calls.

Then a month passed.

Somehow, Ichigo always felt that with the return of their communication, things would change. And things really did change.

Upon their visit and re-introduction, they revealed their purpose of coming over. To say that Ichigo was surprised to see them face-to-face would be an understatement. It was a well-known fact that those who signed up for the military and were assigned classified missions were not allowed to, or at least were unable to leave the base easily until after their contract ended, and even then, they were kept under close tabs to ensure their safety, as well as the country's. So to be able to interact with them like this, Ichigo couldn't help but feel suspicion silhouette his joy at meeting them again, after such a long time.

Welcoming them in his house, the trio were overcome with solemnity at the quiet which enveloped them. The once warm house seemed cold and spacey, although it still had the lived-in feel, the soft touch of femininity in the house decorations absent along with the ever-present clutters of his father, the house was clean, but one could feel that something was missing, that something was lost from it- it was like an awakening for the couple, that their two best friends really were gone. At that, Yoruichi was unable to keep a sob from escaping, consequently burying her face in Kisuke's chest. Kisuke just hugged her in a comforting gesture, offering up a sad smile to Ichigo asking him where their altar was so they might offer up their prayers.

After the emotional scene, to which Ichigo could do nothing but give a melancholic smile- he was still numb to what had happened, still not fully absorbing the permanent loss of his beloved parents, despite having gone through their burial- Ichigo proceeded on to prepare tea for the lengthy discussion he felt was imminent in its approach.

Once everyone had settled down, the living room was enveloped by the scent of freshly-baked scones and tea, as Ichigo returned with a tray-full of the scrumptious meal. Taking a moment to appreciate and savor the masterpiece, the trio got down to discussion.

Apparently, when the couple had heard of Masaki and Isshin's death, they had been overly-worried for the boy the couple left behind, knowing how tight-knit the family was. Despite Ichigo being of legal age to live by himself, they were still concerned about him, especially with the unstable economy and the looming wars which brought it about. As such, they had decided to take in Ichigo with them at the base, and would do so in a week's time, should he consent to it. Of course, such a living arrangement would not come for free, they were after all under the military's payroll, so Ichigo would have to work at the base as well, and those under medical profession were always of high demand, so there wouldn't be a problem with his employment.

Asking for some time to think on their offer, Ichigo expressed his acceptance two days after, and began preparing and packing up for the transfer. The last few days at Karakura were spent on farewell celebrations with his friends, and the promise of keeping contact with each other. To sum it all up, his 18 years of living in the town was all packed up in only a big luggage and two medium-sized boxes, the rest were either thrown away, or sold.

It was not that Ichigo did not treasure the memory with his family at the house, but because he desired to be able to finally move on, and not keep on feeling depressed whenever he woke up in the mornings expecting the scent of the delicious breakfast his mom always prepared, as his dad still sluggishly asleep, forcibly rising to the inviting aroma, trudging down like a zombie and eventually tripping down the stairs- only to wake up to the feeling of emptiness and seemingly eternal silence.

Of course, those times of joy would forever be a precious part of his memories, but he also knew that at some point, he had to move on, so why not now? And with the opportunity which presented itself, he had finally resolved himself to start living life anew. And so, he accepted their invitation.

* * *

Then the morning of the departure came.

At first he was somewhat excited to ride the aircraft transporting him- a Boeing CH-47 Chinook- to wherever it was he was assigned to work in, but ten minutes later, upon entering the sea area and not seeing any change in landscape- or rather, seascape-, he felt like the helicopter wasn't moving at all and remained hovering in the air with no destination whatsoever. After an hour, when he asked the professor in-charge of looking after him, he became even more annoyed.

"Urahara-san… How much longer until we reach the island? I thought it was quite close, why are we taking so long?" Scrunching his brows together, he addressed the slightly unkempt blonde professor with no attempt to hide his steadily growing irritation.

"Kisuke. It's for security purposes, Ichigo-kun. We have to go around various waypoints to ensure that we are not being followed by anyone, as the facility contains sensitive data which could be detrimental if anyone were to know where it is located and try to infiltrate it." The professor explained to him kindly, patiently, as if he should have known it already.

"Since when did we get into first-name basis? And by going around various waypoints… You're just making it sound nicer by not directly saying we're actually going around in circles, touring the whole of Japan, aren't you?! Tsk… It's not like the laboratory is top-secret, it's even advertised in the TV!" Ichigo huffed, frustration getting the better of him.

Using a hand to cover his smile, Kisuke's eyes showed his mirth, finding the situation somewhat amusing. "Why not, Ichigo-CHAN? That's what Yoru and I used to call you when you were still a cute, chubby, baby in Masaki's arms." Placing a huge emphasis on his 'cuteness', Kisuke took the time to grin widely upon receiving a withering glare from the orange-head before pouting and finally giving a more plausible reasoning "We'll be working together for a very long time, and after not seeing each other for quite some time, it would be better for us to re-acquaint with each other now and begin to cultivate the growth of our familial bonds."

Diverting his attention from the teen, to reviewing the documents on the clip folder, he continued on to explain, "Also, even though the lab is well known, the real location isn't revealed. All the waypoints we pass through are routine task areas, so no one will think it suspicious that a military aircraft flies over it. Besides, we can take this time to further strengthen our bond, ne?" Ending the reply with an infuriating grin, Ichigo was hard-pressed not to stand up, walk over to the professor/scientist and give him a knuckle-sandwich.

"Call me 'chan' one more time, KISUKE, and you're gonna get it. I don't even care if they drop me off this huge piece of noise for disobeying the seatbelt rule." Glaring holes into the head of his uncle, he promptly ignored the other guy in favor of closing his eyes, forcing himself to sleep away his distress. 'No wonder he's dad's best friend, they're both nuts…'

Knowing not to push the issue further, both fell into a companionable silence, with the younger one drifting off to sleep in less than a minute.

"We're gonna be together for a long time, Ichigo-kun, a very long time…"

Now having been stuck in the air for almost five hours, with the propeller's noise waking him up, seemingly increasing its volume loud enough just to make his ears hurt and give him a headache despite the protective headset gear he was given, he has become more than impatient. As he continued to sit in the chopper waiting to arrive at his destination, he couldn't help but wonder what in the world had he gotten himself into.

'Well, at the time it seemed godsend…'

He had just woken up a few minutes ago, and he found to his chagrin that they were still airborne. Thinking up various methods to kill the guy who convinced him to sign up for the job, he was interrupted by no other than the subject of his murderous intent.

"Well, well~! Just in time, I'd say! Look out your window, Ichigo. Welcome to Soul Society."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach nor Concrete Garden. **

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**Angels Do Exist**

**Chapter 2: Hueco Mundo**

Stretching out his sore body, Ichigo took in his new surroundings. He still felt slightly unsteady on his feet after being airborne for more than 5 hours, and being on a base having water as its… base, was not helping either. Inhaling with a deep breath, he savored the fresh air only a sea area brings, taking in a lungful as if telling himself that this is now his new home.

"Yaaaah~ It's great to be back!" Urahara exclaimed with his usual cheer, waving his fan heartily at Yoruichi. Ichigo was starting to realize that that was the most prominent expression the man had, and as Yoruichi approached the landing platform to welcome them onboard, he couldn't help but wonder how the lady was able to last the obnoxious man.

'_Guess there's some side of him I can't see, and I doubt I'll ever be able to, like how it goes with mom and the goat-face…'_ Shrugging to himself, he let go of the thought along with all of his frustrations with one big exhale, and turned to greet his aunt. Giving her the brightest smile he could manage, he extended his arm for a handshake, but was instead pulled into a tight hug. Hugging back in return, he could not help but chuckle at Urahara's obstinate reaction, his mouth pouting a bit at being ignored in favor of Ichigo.

"Welcome on board, Ichigo. Welcome to Soul Society." The couple greeted.

* * *

"…down that block is the recreational center, and just straight ahead is the cafeteria…" Yoruichi droned on as they walked past the central courtyard of the sea vessel.

It was actually pretty huge, he figured it to be almost as big as Tokyo city after touring the place for almost 2 hours, and with the tour yet to show signs of ending. Not big enough to be another country, but it was like another city in itself.

When Urahara told him to look out his window back at the helicopter, he thought his uncle was playing another gaffe on him. There was nothing except for the endless blue-green sea. That was until the helicopter began to descend. At first he was sure that the place was either mythological, and his uncle was definitely nuts, or it had to be underwater. Apparently, both ideas were wrong, and he came upon an astounding revelation that the 'invisibility cloak' was not just a work of fiction, but was actually already a reality. In this case, it was a camouflage barrier, a hell of a big one at that. He didn't yet understand the specifics of it, but from the bits and pieces of what his uncle had been babbling about, it had something to do with light refraction to negative degrees or something along those lines. He didn't really bother to remember, not seeing the need for such a thing at the moment, knowing that he wouldn't be leaving the place anytime soon.

"-go… Ichigo!" Startled out of his open-eyed slumber by Yoruichi's insistent calling, he suddenly jerked to himself, almost knocking back Urahara from beside him.

"Ah… Sorry, I'm kinda feeling tired…" Stifling a yawn, he rubbed his face to rouse himself, smiling apologetically to his aunt. They had just finished their late lunch, after which they immediately went to have a tour of the place.

"Oh, no, no! I should be apologizing. It has been so long that I've forgotten how the first travel to Soul Society seemingly drains the life out of you. Sorry, sorry! We had better bring you to your quarters first." Patting his head as if in apology, Yoruichi proceeded on to walk towards the residents' private quarters, all the while pointing out some tips about shortcuts and whatnot.

Upon reaching his assigned room, Urahara stayed back to give Ichigo some memo on the place, as well as his itinerary for the day. "It's 2pm now, I'll be dropping by later at around 5pm to introduce you to your assignment. You don't need to do anything for this week, but to familiarize yourself with your surroundings, after that, then you can get to serious work." Winking at him, Urahara passed him a slip of paper containing several numbers, and a map of the place. "Here, call us anytime you need help. This is the map of the place, I know it's quite big, so you'll need this to know your way around more easily… Oh, and this place will be your work area. Have fun~!" Pointing to an area circled red in the map, he gave his record widest grin before leaving Ichigo to have his much needed rest.

Giving the room a quick tour, he decided that it looked comfortable enough, and strangely suited his taste. _'Hn… Must be Yoruichi's doing… Gotta go thank her later.'_ The last thought dissolving from his mind as he sunk in the extremely soft bed, drifting off into oblivion.

* * *

Blinking his eyes in confusion, he wondered what had woken him up. Seeing the unfamiliar surroundings, Ichigo shot up his bed and groaned as the sudden action made him dizzy. Taking deep breaths to steady himself, he slowly peeked at his surroundings again, recalling his transfer to Soul Society. Looking at his bedside digital clock, it read 5:03 and immediately after, the sound of a bell rang once more. Moving around to remove the kinks from his fitful sleep, he shouted a "Wait a bit, the door's not locked so just come it. Gimme ten to freshen up!" to the awaiting audience, and went off to quickly wash himself and brush his teeth.

Feeling refreshed after his cool shower and a change of clothes, he was greeted by the sight of Urahara at his living room, reading through a book he had just bought.

"Sorry Urahara, I just woke up." Looking to the older man sheepishly in embarrassment, he bowed his head slightly in apology.

"No worries Ichigo-chan! But, I'll only forgive you if you call me Ki-su-ke~!" Shaking his finger at Ichigo, Kisuke gave a devious grin, as if he had found the perfect solution to solving the world's problems.

"Urgh… Not that again!" Ichigo had grumbled, but was unable to suppress a grin. He was slowly starting to warm up to his uncle. As annoying as the blonde was, there was something endearing about him that Ichigo couldn't resist opening up to. He was sort of like a favorite uncle who was missing for a long time, and had just returned with lots of gifts and stories to tell. Which, technically was not too far-fetched from the actual truth.

"Okay, Ichigo-chan, time to meet Grimmjow!" Giving a reassuring smile, Kisuke stood up from his position on the sofa and proceeded to leave, Ichigo trailing closely behind him.

* * *

"So, who's this Grimmjow guy, and what's he like? I assume that he's a 'he' though? I don't think any girl would be happy being given a name such as that… Well, not that he would also be happy having that name… But I guess, if that's already his name right from the start, then he must be used to it already…? Wait, is this 'Grimmjow' even a human?" Ichigo trailed on, questioning his uncle, at the same time wondering loudly to himself about the strange name.

"Hahaha, for the nth time Ichigo, you'll find out once you get there. I hope you two get along though, since you'll be working with each other for a long time, ne~" Laughing off his amusement behind his paper fan, Kisuke continued to walk, evading each of Ichigo's queries about who the mysterious 'Grimmjow' was.

* * *

Arriving upon a restricted area, Ichigo was led through numerous security checks and health screens before he was finally admitted to a spacious area, bare of anything, except for a big gate, labeled "Hueco Mundo". Looking to his uncle in uncertainty, he couldn't keep himself from asking again, "Are you sure this isn't the mental ward? Because you do know that I did not do any specializing in that area, yes?"

Like the many times before when he asked that question, Kisuke would only give a laugh, while shaking his head and reassuring Ichigo that, "No, it isn't the mental ward. It's just that the residents in this area are very important people, so they need to be guarded carefully from any outsiders who would bring them harm potentially."

Finally stopping in front of the huge gate, Kisuke motioned Ichigo forward, telling him to place his palm on the reader. "What about you?" Ichigo questioned.

"Sorry kid, you will have to go in alone. He requested specifically for you." Smiling apologetically, asking for understanding, Kisuke urged him forward to meet his 'guest'.

* * *

Ichigo had started to become worried when he noticed that the place they were approaching was void of any other people. It was like a ghost town altogether, and so he kept on questioning his uncle, but got no other response aside from the usual explanations he had already given. However, once Kisuke told him that the 'most probably' man- Grimmjow- had specifically requested for him, and him only, he could not help but feel something ominous from it. Seeing that he had no other choice but to move forward though, he steeled his resolve and proceeded on to enter the heavily sealed gates of Hueco Mundo.

What he saw inside was highly unexpected though.

Outside the gates, the place gave off an impression that it was void of anything except, white, black and gray. But stepping inside, the landscape went through a drastic change from bare to something filled with life. It was like the garden of all gardens. Flowers of different shades and colors surrounded the professionally-designed landscape, for it could only be that- its beauty and perfection much too orderly and categorized to be under something just naturally grown. Moving around, he saw the fountain delicately spouting water from its pinnacle, the liquid so pristine in its cleanliness, it was almost like looking through a crystal glass. Aside from those, there were also several Greek sculptures scattered around, serving as something like identification posts, much like how each road intersections have a name posts to them. The various stones they were made with, not overshadowing the rough marble and onyx stones used to make the garden paths. The majesty and luxuriousness of the place somehow making his eyes hurt. The view was much too opulent for one who preferred simpler and less complicated things as he.

Gathering his bearings, Ichigo began to walk around calling out to the mysterious 'most likely' man, to the one known as "Grimmjow Jeagerjaques". He figured to himself that the guy definitely had to be a human if he had both a name and a surname as "Grimmjow Jeagerjaques" implied. He was also most probably a mix— American-German-French is where he'd placed his bet on. After some time of walking around without getting any response, he decided to just roam the place, perchance he might stumble upon the mysterious missing guy.

Although, when the thought of 'stumble upon the guy' came to him, he did not mean it to happen literally. But as fate would have it, that's exactly what happened.

"Grimmjow-san! Grimmjow-san! Hn… I wonder where he could be…" Muttering to himself, and deciding to take a turn at the next junction upon sighting a white structure at the side, Ichigo suddenly tripped on something and fell forward, face first onto the surprisingly soft, trimmed grass and stone-empty path which led towards the gazebo.

"Ah… Iteeeee... What the hell was that… Ouch…" Moaning in pain for hitting his forehead on the ground— despite how soft it is, a ground is still a ground— which is definitely still harder compared to his face, or as hard as a soft ground ought to be. He looked back to see what had caused him to trip. Upon seeing two long legs covered in white hakama, he traced it back to its owner and couldn't help but wonder how he missed seeing such a huge man.

A voice amusedly rumbled in greeting, "I am Grimmjow."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Okay, I totally forgot. Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. Maa, enjoy~!

Hime-twin~! I hope you enjoy this chappy too… It always is just too much fun teasing you and leaving you hanging. *smirks like Shiro*

Oh! Hey! Hey! Hey! Who read the latest Bleach chappy? Anyone saw that suspicious looking arm with the 3/4 sleeves of an Arrancar? Yep, I am almost 100 percent positive that it's Grimmjow(almost because we all know how Tite Kubo likes to throw curveballs at us unsuspecting readers)! Like, finally! RAWR! Tite Kubo is such a troll, show us the full Grimmjow alreadyyyyyyyyy~! \(TwT)/

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor Concrete Garden.**

**Warning: Incestuous theme, shounen-ai. (...that's about it i think?)**

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**Angels Do Exist**

**Chapter 3: I Have A WHAT?**

'_So annoying.'_ Was the first thought that came to his mind.

He was having his daily siesta just before he took his dinner, when someone kept on shouting, calling out his name. Calling out to him.

'_Heh. Maybe I should eat that person…'_ Grinning to himself, he ignored the person who was obviously searching for him, while continuing to savor his cigarette.

'_**Gahhhhh… Hope I stumble upon this guy soon. This place is starting to feel like a deserted Jumanji…'**_ Upon hearing such a thought, Grimmjow was brought out of his reverie, amused that someone actually dared to go look for him, alone at that. He couldn't help but think if he had forgotten something, or they were just rewarding him a free fresh meal— the staff, on the rare times they did visit him, were always in groups of three… Not that he couldn't easily get rid of them, 'power in numbers' just didn't apply to him, they were merely humans after all, but they did serve their purpose. Call it a mutually beneficial relationship.

"Grimmjow-san! Grimmjow-san! Hn… I wonder where he could be…" The voice was ultimately getting closer, and moving as though in instinct, he quickly stretched both his legs out as far as they would go and waited quietly. After a few seconds, a burst of orange suddenly flashed in front of him, before he felt a dull bump against his lower leg, and the orange dropped down in a blur, seemingly merging with the viridian grass.

"Ah… Iteeeee... What the hell was that… Ouch…" The moan of pain couldn't keep his wide grin from forming in amusement at the youth who had just literally 'stumbled' upon him. _'Well, at least he got his wish.'_ He quietly snickered to himself.

'_**How the hell did I miss seeing such a huge guy?!'**_

'_How… Cute. This guy is infinitely interesting… Oh, wait… Could he possibly be?'_

As he saw the orange-haired teen gaping at him, looking very much like a kicked puppy startled awake, he decided to break the ice and introduced himself.

"I am Grimmjow."

* * *

"Ah… My name is-" The boy had started introducing himself, but Grimmjow interrupted before he could finish.

"I know. Yer Kurosaki Ichigo, yeah?" Not waiting for a response, he continued on excitedly.

"The one and only grandchild of the legendary Rantao." Extending his hand to help the boy up, he changed his mind in the last minute and decided to just prop the orange-haired male to straddle his lap. Still holding the boy in his arms, Grimmjow couldn't help but think how fragile the boy seemed to be, despite his firm built.

"Oh, you know grandma?" The boy queried, surprised and a little taken aback by how Grimmjow had positioned him, but relented nonetheless.

"Heh, yeah. Like close acquaintances… She was my creator after all." Biting the cigarette between his teeth as he moved to stand up to his full height while still holding the younger man secured in his arms, Grimmjow eyed the boy. Noticing the confused expression on Ichigo's face, he queried the other's apparent surprise, only to find out that the kid did not yet know anything about why he was really 'invited' onto the Soul Society.

Reluctantly releasing his 'captive' when Ichigo began to squirm and blush in unease, Grimmjow sighed to himself in disdain and slight irritation at the irresponsibility of the person who briefed Ichigo, _'… And a wonderful job they did in informing him of their true intentions…'_, he shook his head in an attempt to brush it off as nothing more than a twisted sense of amusement.

"Well, I'll give ya the basic explanation of yer job 'ere, but as for the rest o' the details, go an' ask yer handler, or superior, or whatever ya call the person in-charge of ya... Who is it anyway?" He added as an afterthought, trying to understand how Ichigo came to be so unprepared for such a situation.

"Why that idiot Urahara…" Cursing the man under his breath in annoyance at his uncle's flippant attitude, he jerked in surprise at the sudden boisterous laughter that erupted from the blue-haired giant.

"BWAHAHAHA! URAHARA?! SERIOUSLY? AS IN URAHARA KISUKE?! HAH! NO WONDER YA DIN' FIND OUT ANYTHIN'! AHAHAHA!" Clutching his stomach as he laughed his heart out, it was evident that Grimmjow was forcing himself to calm down enough to talk properly at least without suddenly bursting into laughter again.

Seeing a nerve pop on the kid's forehead in annoyance, Grimmjow coughed to clear his throat and slowly wiped his tears off, rubbing his chest in an attempt to comfort after his raucous laughter.

'_**GAHHHHHHHH! ANO BAKA YAROU... That. STUPID. IDIOTIC. Uncle. Of. Mine. Is. Definitely. DEFINITELY. Gonna. Get. It. Later… I'LL MAKE SURE OF IT.'**_

'_Ahhh… How troublesome. Now I really do have to explain all the basics at least… Pfft… No wonder he looks so lost… His 'uncle' eh… Ahahaha… Hah. Ah… Hn? His uncle? Oh shit. Let's hope he's nothing like that crazy old blonde. But, oh well, a fresh meal is always welcome.'_

Licking his lips with the thought of devouring the boy, his attention was diverted by something more interesting.

'_**Woah, cool. Blue hair and eyes… And is that a jawbone on his cheek? I wonder how he's able to eat or bathe with that… Hn… guess he also brushes it like how one brushes their teeth…? Well, it does move while he's talking… Wonder if he can remove it like a mask, it doesn't seem to be attached to something… Can't believe granny made him… What was she thinking altering his DNA like that?! But… It's not too bad I guess? He's… kinda hot…'**_

Watching the boy blush at his own thoughts, he couldn't help but give a lecherous grin, amused at the youth's thought process.

'_**STOP. Okay. Shit. What the hell am I thinking! Did I just ogle a man? Or a… What IS he anyway? I don't think he's a full human by the looks of him… Maybe a half-man… Uh… Nah, definitely not a HALF anything… He's all full male and a beautiful specimen at that… DAMMIT! Get a hold of yourself Kurosaki Ichigo! Still… I sure do hope I'm not drooling right now…'**_

'_I wonder what you'd do, Kurosaki Ichigo, once you find out that I can clearly hear your thoughts… Maybe I just won't let you know though, this is just so much fun…'_

Dusting off his white jacket, Grimmjow continued to listen in on Ichigo's thoughts, grinning happily the whole time.

'_**Wow… I'd sure do love to have a body like that, though… It's not bulky like those ads with steroid-overloaded men, but firm and lean… I wonder how it'd be like to the touch… Gah! I'm doing it again! Wait. No. It's totally fine to look at his body, Kurosaki Ichigo. Even though it's just his bare chest— which he is covering with that bolero-like thingy which thankfully doesn't help cover any of that beauty… Yes, you're just giving this beautiful specimen its proper appreciation by looking, so just look all you want… Maybe as covertly as possible… I'll bet he's got a nice ass too… Shit, this is sooooo embarrassing! Why am I thinking all these thoughts anyway? This is so not like me! For the nth time, get a hold of yourself Ichigo!'**_

'_Heh, he's not too bad himself. I guess this type of crazy is fine… First time someone thought such a thing about me though, would definitely love to have him around… Such an effective ego booster… Wouldn't mind 'eating' him either… But I guess I'll have to wait for that to happen…'_

Snorting to himself, Grimmjow resolved himself to retain the seriousness for the moment, just so he could at least explain some things to Ichigo, to prevent the kid from being overly shocked later on once he discovers just exactly what he is working with after having interacted with the subject and having no protection at all.

"Have you heard of the angel genes?" Switching to proper speech, Grimmjow watched as recognition of the topic lit Ichigo's intelligent brown eyes, before an actual nod was given in response.

"Well, basically, your grandma worked on that project to develop the remaining angel genes found, to prevent my kind from going extinct. However, for that to work successfully, there had to be a compatible egg donor- one of which was found out to be your mother, Masaki. So, think of me as something like an older half-brother, I guess. That's also one of the reasons why I had asked them to bring you here, so that I could finally get to meet my cute little brother… You don't have to be alone anymore, Ichigo. I'll be with you forever." Smiling gently at the tangerine-haired youth, Grimmjow gently grasped his hand, bringing it closer to his lips, and placed a light kiss on it, all the while their eyes not leaving each other's- as if in understanding that a silent promise was just made between them.

'_**OHMYGOODNESS! Despite how handsome he is… Did I really just ogle my own brother? My OWN REAL brother? Damn, I have a brother? SHIT. FUCK. SHIT. I JUST OGLED MY BROTHER! AHHHHHH! WHAT. THE. HELL. AM. I… I really still can't believe such a beautiful person could be related to me! He's got such fair skin, with those lovely sky blue hair and eyes, we're like direct opposites! Ah, dammit! I'm doing it again! Stop ogling your BROTHER, Ichigo! Gahhhh…'**_

Quietly chuckling at Ichigo's currently raging internal turmoil, Grimmjow tuned into the younger male's thoughts more intently at hearing a shift in the other's tone.

'_**But what he said… I'm not… alone anymore? Ah, this is bad, I can't be falli- ah. I mean, fawning! Yes, I can't be fawning over my own brother! You only fawn over girls right? Sisters definitely count, but brothers? Nah… Even if he's got those gorgeous eyes that can just make you melt like at his feet like a gooey puddle OF FEAR! Yes, make you melt all gooey in fear! Shit, what the hell am I thinking…'**_

Viewing himself doing a mental face-palm, and with a dark blush staining his cheeks, probably permanently with the way his thoughts were flowing, Ichigo continued to gaze openly at Grimmjow, hand falling limp from the kiss placed on it not too long ago, eyes still remaining trained on each other, as if hypnotized.

Until Ichigo broke it with a blink and a scrunching of his eyebrows, frowning slightly in wonderment.

'_**Well… he might be handsome and all… but are angels supposed to look like thugs…?'**_

At that follow-up thought, Grimmjow once again barked in laughter. "Yer cute, Strawberry."

And hell ensued.

* * *

"My, my. Seems like your reputation precedes you, Kisuke." The tall, mouse-brown haired scientist averted his sight from the big monitor showing Grimmjow and Ichigo's interaction and smirked in amusement at the said scientist, his mischief evident in the glint of his eyes, unblocked despite the thick glasses he wore.

"No need to rub it in, Sousuke. I feel bad enough doing this to Masaki and Isshin's only child, and seeing his face like that, I feel like I've just dug my own grave…" Shuddering at the thought of what retribution awaited him at the hands of his 'nephew', he gave a light glare towards his lab partner, but the look was ultimately ruined by his pout- which Sousuke just KNEW he had on, despite the ever-present paper fan covering half of his face.

"Heh, aren't we all? Ever since we signed up for this project, it feels as though we've become imprisoned by our own efforts to attain peace and freedom." Smile turning forlorn, Sousuke brushed his hair back loosely with his fingers, a stubborn lock falling back on his forehead- a habit of his whenever he begins to feel agitation- sighing as if the very thought of what they were doing was a million-ton load on his back.

A moment of silence took over as the scientists watched the pair on the monitor tackling each other on the grass like puppies, with Ichigo currently on top of Grimmjow, holding him down effectively. Usually, such moves of aggression immediately resulted in a restraining or rescue alert for the ship's security crew, however, with the unusually friendly and playful grin donned by the blue-haired man, they had decided to let it pass in favor of just continuing to observe passively.

He might appear to be in a disadvantageous position, but Grimmjow is definitely anything but. It was all an act, a deceptive appearance to encourage the orange-haired man to drop his defences. Had Ichigo known the full truth about him, Urahara doubted he'd be foolish enough to willingly go anywhere near the residence facility of the 'angel'. Although there's a chance that he would be naïve enough to do so, especially once he found out about their relationship. Ichigo firmly believed in building strong family ties, and Grimmjow was definitely blood-related, nevermind the other… _minor _details of how that came to be.

"You do remember why this vessel has been called the Soul Society, right? Because those who had signed up to work here are all forever restrained, only freed after death- which sometimes, does not even happen…" Intelligent, sharp eyes were once more directed towards Kisuke, their gaze so clear, it seemed to penetrate straight through the deepest secrets kept in his soul.

"Well, Ichigo is finally here… Let's hope his presence will be beneficial to our cause." Raising his head, body language set in a determined stance, the mood in the observation laboratory turned solemn as if sensing the already fragile hope placed on the youth who had just arrived.


End file.
